General schedule employees in permanent positions (including those to which the employee has been promoted on a temporary or term basis for at least one year) are eligible for within grade increases, unless they are denied for poor performance, after the following waiting periods: 52 weeks for advancement to steps 2-4; 104 weeks for advancement to steps 5-7; and 156 weeks for advancement to steps 8-10.

Within-grade step increases are based on an acceptable level of performance and longevity (waiting periods of 1 year at steps 1-3, 2 years at steps 4-6, and 3 years at steps 7-9). It normally takes 18 years to advance from step 1 to step 10 within a single GS grade if an employee remains in that single grade.

Each of the GS grades has 10 steps. Pay increases within each grade are divided as follows: The first three step increases occur every year. The next three step increases occur every two years. The last three step increases occur every three years. After 18 years, you’ll advance to step 10 of your grade.

For GS and LEO, the first three-step increases occur every year, the subsequent three-step increases occur every two years, and the final three-step increases occur every three years. It takes 18 years to advance to step 10.